STUDENT SAMPLE
CO 201
Sam Sarkisian
14 February 2020
The Dangers of Teen Drinking in Greek Life
BOSTON- A recently released BU Today article showed an increase in the number of students
transported to the hospital last semester due to drinking compared to the past two years. As the
university approaches rush week for both sororities and fraternities, it is important to recognize
the detrimental impact Greek life has on dangerous, underage drinking habits and how Greek life
contributed to the statistics.
Eighty students found themselves in the hospital after a night out in the fall semester, which is an
increase over the past two years, according to BU Today author Rich Barlow.
Rich Barlow, the author and reporter responsible for this BU Today Article, informed me that in
the past decade Boston University hasIn response to the increase in student hospitalization, BU
has “adopted new protocols to reduce excessive drinking based on effective protocols used at the
University of California Los Angeles,.” according to the same article.
“They [The Wellness Center] can't completely explain the fluctuation of the statistics, they hope
it's due to the good Samaritan policy, where students are not being prosecuted, but they can’t tell
whether it [the change in data] is statistically significant,” said Barlow.
This statistic does not factor in thea common fall tradition of rush week. At many schools, rush
week takes place in the fall, but at Boston University girls and all freshmen do not rush until the
spring. Rush week is when students complete a variety of tasks, one being binge drinking, and
attend events in hopes of being selected to join a sorority or fraternity.
Even though less than half of students at Boston University participate in rushing, Greek life still
has a large impact on the university. Fraternities are responsible for a large portion of the parties
held that students attend.
One student who wished to remain anonymous was hospitalized after attending a party at a
fraternity in Allston.
“I think more people end up in the hospital because they won’t get in trouble the first time it
happens to them and whoever sent them won’t get in trouble either,” they said. “You don’t know
you drank too much until you wake up handcuffed to a hospital bed.”
According to one study from Harvard University, “4 out of 5 fraternity and sorority members are
binge drinkers. In comparison, other research suggests 2 out of 5 college students overall are
regular binge drinkers.”
When asked whether Greek life is a large part of the reason students drink too much alcohol,
Detective Lieutenant Kelley O’Connell commented through email.
“Yes, they are a reason, dependent upon the code of conduct of the specific fraternity or sorority.
Any venue whether it be a fraternity, sorority, private residence or even a licensed establishment
has an obligation to ensure that all attendees are of legal age,” said O’Connell.
Griffin Morrill, a freshman who rushed a fraternity this semester and currently pledging said,
“They lined us up and handed us a bottle while we were blindfolded and told us to chug. ‘You
trust your brothers, don’t you?’ they said to test our loyalty to the frat.”
Morrill also reported that many kids were too drunk after the initiation activities and “so many
guys were passed out or sitting with their heads in trash cans.”
In contrast, sororities have a different rush process that often forbids drinking. One freshman,
Lauren Hund, was asked if she had any concerns about alcohol use during rush week.
“I guess I’ve always heard from people that rush week is a time when sororities don’t drink
alcohol, so I guess it didn’t make me hesitant to rush because I know they don’t drink during
rush week,” said Hund. “Even if I was told that they did drink during rush week I wouldn’t be
hesitant because drinking is a choice, so if you don’t wanna do it you don’t have to do it.”
Although the transport rates of students to the hospital mentioned in the BU Today article have
increased, this is not necessarily a negative statistic. Transportation to the hospital means
students are being monitored after they have had too much to drink which was the ultimate goal
of the new protocols Rich Barlow mentioned.
When asked about the increase in the number of students being transported to the hospital,
O’Connell was not sure of the clear-cut answer.
“It’s a two-fold issue; there’s more of an awareness to the dangers associated with intoxication.
Therefore, more people are reporting when there’s a dangerous situation. While there is still the
issue of students who are experiencing alcohol for the first time that become overly intoxicated
more easily” said O’Connell.
“Students have to be cautious when they go to frats and start drinking” Morrill warned. “Know
what’s being given to you and watch how much your friends are having. People aren’t smart
when they drink and that’s when things go wrong.”
This is a pretty solid news story with balanced reporting and an objective news voice.
Unfortunately (perhaps partially due to time restrictions and insufficient data) you don’t give any
solidified information or what to do about it, so this in some ways weakens the newsworthiness
of your article.
Look through my comments on line-specific suggestions and corrections.
- Prof. S
- Grade: B+/A- (90)
Sources:
Harvard Study quote: https://www.addictioncenter.com/college/drinking-drug-abuse-greek-life/
Bu Today article: https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/alcohol-transports-increased-this-fall-over-
fall-2018/